


The Legend of Zelda: The Wasteland

by 100indecisions, Lyviel



Series: Video game fanworks [18]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Female Link Jam, Gen, Genderswap, Post-Apocalypse, Screenplay/Script Format, Video Game, Women in the Military, also they're all kind of dorks, hence the F/F tag for Link/Impa, only Link and Zelda (here known as Zel) are genderswapped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-03-30 22:42:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3954598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100indecisions/pseuds/100indecisions, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyviel/pseuds/Lyviel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(This is an in-progress game for <a href="http://jams.gamejolt.io/femalelinkjam">Female Link Jam</a>, the only requirements of which were that the game had to be 1) set in the world of Legend of Zelda and 2) about a female protagonist named Link.) </p><p>After the events of Ocarina of Time, the Hero was sent back in time to live out his childhood—so when Ganon was later resurrected, no Hero existed to stop him in that timeline. In Wind Waker, the Goddess deals with this situation by flooding the world to seal away Ganon and put a halt to the destruction he’s caused. This game presents an alternate timeline in which the Goddess does not flood the world, instead leaving it to its own devices, and it is overrun by monsters and corruption under Ganon’s control. Generations later, the people of Hyrule survive, but they are scattered. Prince Zel and his protectors, the Sheikah, attempt to gather the survivors to reestablish a safe haven for them all. Link is a Sheikah scout who spends most of her time on her own, gathering survivors to bring back to the other Sheikah—until she explores the ruins of an old temple and finds the remnants of the legendary Master Sword.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Game script

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter consists of the script that Lyviel and I wrote for the game, which was intended to be a fairly short but complete story. For various reasons, the game in general is a very unfinished project that features some work by the programmer and artists but currently none of our dialogue, so we figured we'd at least post the script here.

### Introduction   

Long ago, the kingdom of Hyrule was overthrown by the demon king Ganon. The land was shrouded in shadow, and all hope was nearly lost. However, a light appeared in the form of the Hero  of  Time. Equipped with nothing but his courage and the Master Sword, he defeated Ganon. Then as quickly as he appeared, the Hero vanished, passing into legend. All was well...for a time. 

Eventually the Demon King returned, and this time, no Hero arrived to stop him. The people cried out to the gods as their world fell to darkness, but the gods were silent, and so the kingdom and the land itself fell into ruin, corrupted by Ganon’s evil power. With no Hero to wield it, the Master Sword was lost to history—and with it any hope of defeating Ganon.

The royal Hylian line, protected by the Sheikah, lived on despite the destruction. For generations they have continued the fight against Ganon’s evil. Now, Prince Zel strives to rebuild a safe haven for the scattered people of Hyrule, and the Sheikah defend the borders of the tiny piece of land they have reclaimed from the diseased swampland the Demon King created. Sheikah scouts, sent to find and protect refugees, wear green to blend in with their surroundings, but they also remember the Hero of Time, and they wear his colors to remind the people to have courage. A young woman named Link is one such scout, and she is one of the Sheikah’s best--fierce, bold, and quick.  


### Scene 1

Location: Swamp Entrance

Link has rescued refugees and is bringing them to safety.  

Link: Don’t worry, we’re almost out of the swamp. You’ll be safe now.

Refugee: Thank you so much! If you hadn’t come along when you had…

Link: Don’t mention it. Oh!

[Impa enters]

Impa: [relieved] Link! You’re all right.

Link: Impa! What are you doing all the way out here?

Impa: [flustered] I heard you volunteered for extra scouting shifts again.

Link: More scouts have been injured so we don’t have the people to keep up the usual searches. I volunteered to pick up the extra slack.

Impa: I thought I would come see if you required any assistance, but it seems you have everything under control as usual.

Link: I’m not quite done here, actually. If you could take these survivors back to the settlement, I’ll finish up here--I saw some ruins while I was out and I need to see whether anyone’s sheltering there.

Impa: Of course. Stay safe.

Link: You too! Not that you need me to say that.

Link: (Wow, real smooth, Link. I could have asked her to come with me! What was I thinking?)

[Impa and refugees stay until player leaves this area] **  
**

 

### Generic dialog if player interacts with refugees

Female Refugee 1: Isn’t that Impa? The Prince’s bodyguard and general? I thought she never left his side.

Female Refugee 2: I hope we don’t run into any more Stalfos.

Male Refugee 1: Thank you again for saving us!

Male Refugee 2: I’m never going to get this swamp smell out of my clothes…

Impa: Stay safe.

End Scene

 

### Scene 2

Location: Swamp Ruins

Link finds the Master Sword in the middle of the temple ruin, suspended a few inches above the ground and glowing slightly.

Link: Is that _the_ Master Sword? Zel isn't going to believe this.

[Link touches the Sword, the Triforce symbol glows on the back of her hand, light travels from the sword to Link’s axe, and the sword crumbles.]

Sages: Praise be to the goddess, the Hero of Time has been reborn.

Link: Well that was… certainly something. I had better go find Zel back at the settlement. He’ll want to know about this.

End Scene

 

### Scene 3

Location: Swamp Entrance

Prince Zel and Impa meet Link at the edge of the swamp. 

Zel: Link, I just had another vision, this one’s _really_ important--

Link: Does it have anything to do with the Master Sword?

Zel: You’ll have to go back into the swamp and look for—wait, what? How did you know?

Link: Educated guess.

[Link shows them the new symbol on her axe.]

Link: Does this look familiar to you?

Zel: You already _found_ it? Then you already know you’re the new Hero?

Link: Apparently. Oh, also, the sword dissolved into glowing light and went into my axe, and then these voices called me the Hero of Time reborn, so actually it was pretty explicit. I have no idea who the voices were, by the way.

Zel: Oh, of course, that must have been the sages.

Link: Sages?

Zel: Not important right now, I’ll tell you later if there’s time. Right now--I can’t believe you already found it.

Link: Don’t sound so overjoyed.

Zel: No, it’s good, it’s just...not fair that I had a _vision_ and I still couldn’t surprise you.

Link: Look at it this way--you lost the element of surprise, but I’m in a much better mood than I would be if you said I had to go right back into the swamp.

Zel: ...um. About that. We have a plan.

Link: A plan that requires me to go right back into the swamp.

Impa: Now that we possess the Master Sword—or its power, at any rate—the barrier around Ganon's castle is no longer an obstacle, and we have a real chance of defeating Ganon and sealing him away. Our warriors are already assembling. Prince Zel and I will lead them in a frontal assault on Ganon’s castle, and you can sneak in from the back while he is distracted. He will not expect anyone to know the swamp well enough to approach that way. It’s a simple enough plan, but if he doesn’t know the Master Sword is back in play, you should be able to take him by surprise.

Link: Got it. So we need to move immediately.

Impa: Yes. Are you up for the task?

Link: Brand-new Hero of Time reporting for duty.

[Impa clasps Link’s shoulder]

Impa: Be careful.

[Impa leaves.]

Zel: You’re doing it again.

Link: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Zel: You’re not gazing after her like a lovestruck puppy? Well, if you say so.

[Link scowls at him.]

Zel: You know, if you actually asked her to share a drink with you, she’d probably say yes.

Link: Don’t you have a battle to help run?

Zel: ...we’ll talk about this after the battle.

[Zel leaves.]

End Scene

 

### Scene 4

Location: Swamp outside Ganon’s castle

(After Link has navigated the swamp and has reached Ganon’s castle) Telepathic message from Zel explaining his plan--Link can talk to it, but Zel can’t hear her because the communication only goes one way.

[Link sees a ghostly image of Zel. When activated, the following dialog begins.]

Link: Is that Zel? Oh, I hate these telepathic messages. I hope he didn’t leave this for me too long ago.

Zel: Hey Link! So don’t be mad, but I’m about to let Ganon kidnap me.

Link: WHAT.

Zel: Remember the sages I mentioned earlier? See, their power is what lets the Master Sword seal evil, and it turns out there isn’t a lot we can do without both the Sword and the sages, so I have to be able to communicate with them to create the seal. Thing is, when Ganon corrupted the spirit realm, the royal family lost contact with the sages, so now I have to actually get to the sages first—and Ganon’s already made a portal to the spirit realm so he can go after them and kill them to destroy the Sword’s power. He won’t be able to find them easily, but neither will I. So—this is the part you’re not going to like—I’m going to let him capture me, and he’ll use the remnants of my connection with the other sages to find them. Because I’m also one of the sages. I think I forgot to mention that. He’ll get there a lot faster that way, but so will I, because he’s the one who corrupted the spirit realm and he actually knows how to navigate it. Once I get to the other sages, we can probably hold him off long enough for you to get to us and use the Master Sword’s power to complete the seal. So, uh, please hurry.

[Link facepalms.]

End Scene

 

### Scene 5

Location: Ganon’s Castle

Link finds portal at the top of Ganon’s castle in the throne room.

Link: That must be the portal to the sacred realm. Zel, you’d better still be alive.

[Link jumps into the portal]

End Scene

 

### Scene 6

Location: Corrupted Spirit Realm

[Link charges in to find Ganon holding Zel by the throat.]

Link: Hey, ugly!

[Ganon turns, and Link nails him in the forehead with her crossbow. He drops Zel, who scrambles over to Link.]

Link: This is an _awful_ plan!

Zel: Look, I had to improvise! You know what I’m like under pressure.

Link: What if I hadn’t gotten here in time, idiot? What if I hadn’t found you _at all_?

Zel: I knew you would. You always do.

Ganon: Ah, the Hero of Time. I was wondering when you would show up.

Link: I don’t think we’ve actually met.

Ganon: Not in this lifetime. It matters not. I will deal with you, and then I will destroy the sages. I have grown too powerful for you to stop me.

Link: Yeah? I’ve got the power of the Master Sword. You’ve hurt my friends for the last time.

[Boss Battle]

End Scene

 

### Scene 7

Location: Corrupted Spirit Realm

Ganon collapses, defeated.

Zel: Now, sages! Help me seal him!

Ganon: No! I cannot be defeated!

Zel: Fascinating. I think he’s trying to--

Link: No time! Do you need to do anything else?

Zel: No, the seal’s in place, it’s all up to the sages and--

[Link pushes Zel through portal]

End Scene

 

### Scene 8

Location: Ganon’s Throne Room

[Zel falls out of the portal in Ganon’s throne room]

Impa: Prince Zel!

Zel: Ah, glad you could make it, Impa.

[Impa helps Zel stand]

Impa: Are you well, my lord?

Zel: Completely fine. Stop worrying. Is the battle won?

Impa: Yes, Ganon’s forces are scattered. If he isn’t defeated soon, however, they will regroup. And with respect, my lord, this idea of letting Ganon take you? That was a _terrible_ plan.

Zel: Funny, that’s exactly what Link said.

Impa: Is she all right? Where is she?

Zel: Still inside. She has to complete the seal.

Impa: We have to help her!

Zel: No, we can’t! Ganon’s power is waning, and the portal isn’t stable enough anymore. We might not all make it back. It’s all up to her now.

Impa: Gods help her. She’d better get back here in one piece.

End Scene

 

### Scene 9

Location: Corrupted Spirit Realm

[Link delivers final blow]

Ganon: NO! I--will not--

[Ganon is sealed in a flash of light, possibly visual effect like everything turning white or the ground crumbling or something]

Link: I’ll take that as my cue to leave.

[Link jumps through portal]

End Scene

 

### Scene 10

Location: Throne Room

[Link jumps out of the portal, landing on her feet]

Impa: Link! [Embraces Link]

Zel: [coughs pointedly]

Link and/or Impa: [Blushes]

Zel: About time. Now come on, you crazy kids. Ganon’s castle is ours, but we have a kingdom to rebuild. The corruption should leave the land in a few generations now that the portal is closed, but we still have plenty to do.

Impa: Surely it can wait until after one drink, my lord.

Link: Good point. I think we’ve all had enough near-death experiences for one day.

Zel: Shall we see if Ganon had a wine cellar then? He seems the type.

Impa: Well--my lord--you know of course that we both enjoy your company, but I was thinking--something a little more private, that is if Link has no objections--

Link: Zero objections.

Zel: By the gods, I was _joking_. Go have an incredibly long-overdue drink. I promise not to put myself in too much mortal peril while you’re gone.

Impa: My lord--

Link: ZEL.

Zel: Also joking. Now go.

End Scene


	2. Alpha Build 1.0

[This is what the game looks like right now](http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/the-legend-of-zelda-the-wasteland/64114/). As mentioned in the previous chapter, none of our dialogue is in it, and it's very incomplete. The sprites are pretty cute though.


	3. Alpha Build 2.0

[This build is a much nicer version that includes a video introduction and a whole lot more art assets](http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/the-legend-of-zelda-the-wasteland/64114/). Looks much more like a Zelda game now!


	4. Alpha Build 3.0

[Now with actual NPCs and dialogue](http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/the-legend-of-zelda-the-wasteland/64114/)! 


End file.
